New Ford tech can steer you out of trouble

The Blue oval company is currently developing a range of advanced safety and assistance systems.

Ford is introducing a series of new safety and assistance features, which will be available in production vehicles within two years, and are part of the company's "commitment to triple its investment in developing driver-assist features."

The Blue oval brand is currently working on several systems, including a cross-traffic alert with braking technology, enhanced active park assist, and systems that can warn drivers from traveling the wrong way against traffic.

But what really grabbed our attention is the so-called evasive steering assist, a new technology which helps drivers "steer around stopped or slower vehicles to help avoid collisions." The video above gives a pretty good demonstration of the system, which is designed to operate at city and highway speeds, using radar and a camera to detect slower-moving and stationary vehicles ahead. When an obstacle is detected, the technology supports the steering to enable drivers avoid a vehicle if a collision is imminent.

The wrong-way alert system combines information from the car's navigation system with data from a windshield-mounted camera to give the driver visual and audio warnings should he begin driving the wrong direction against traffic.

As for the parking assist, in its new version it controls not only the steering, but also the gear selection, and forward and reverse movement to park the car at the push of a button. Also, the system can enable a vehicle to automatically enter and exit a parallel parking space, as well as reverse into a perpendicular space.

The new range of driver-assist technologies is currently under development at Ford of Europe's Research and Innovation Center in Aachen, Germany, and will be available in different models of the brand around the world.

"Driver-assist technologies help us all be better drivers because they enhance our ability to see and sense the road around us," Scott Lindstrom, manager driver-assist and active safety at Ford, described the systems. "Ford's investment in research and development is paying off by accelerating innovation to expand our portfolio of driver-assist technologies that deliver functionality and performance that customers will value."

Other technologies being developed by Ford include spot lighting that highlights pedestrians, cyclists and animals, a camera-based advanced front lighting system, and traffic jam assist keeping the vehicle centered in a lane.